How much are you earning per annum?

Service Engineer for 18yrs

Only $40Kpa. (no increment for the last 8yrs)

Didn't realize been shortchanged by my boss till I read this article. Sighhhh...

Anyway, got offer from MNC $60kpa. Still low but a big jump for me.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Low income graduate couple, late forties, makes only $180k pa combined.
But we are satisfied and contented with our life.
We have two beautiful teenage children.
Our humble home (a 3 bedroom condo) in the West is fully paid up.
Our modest 2L conti car is fully paid up.
We go for holidays twice a year.
Life is a struggle but we survived.

My goodness, you are low income??? How about 80% of Singaporeans who are staying in HDB and cannot afford to buy a condo? What are they classified as? I think you are probably living in your own world?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Not pathetic. It depends on your lifestyle and quality of life

I work hard from 9am to 5pm

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I'm already 47, earning only $60k pa. Are there anyone in this forum earning as pathetic as me?

Bro Im 44 but earning only $40Kpa. So there are more pathetic people like me. You are consider median income group.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

There are many like you. In s'pore, 2/3 of workers end up not having to pay income tax at all because of various reliefs. Those who do pay taxes also pay one of the lowest tax rates in the world. Personal income is capped at 20%.

What is important is to save and invest whatever you can. At the end of the day, you might still end up better off than a person who earns more and pay taxes. I suppose you are single?

At 38, you still have a long way to build up a nice nest egg for your retirement. Let's say you retire at 65, that's a good 27 years to go. Even a savings of $20k pa will give $540k at 65. And if you invest that to get 3% ROI, you will have $1m! More than enough to afford you a very comfortable lifestyle throughout your retirement.

How to save $20k per year if your income is about 30K to 40K per year?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I'm already 47, earning only $60k pa. Are there anyone in this forum earning as pathetic as me?

you are not pathetic. A persons income does not determine his worth.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Job: Failure Analysis Engineer
Exp: 5 yrs
Age: 28yrs
Salary: 40K ( incld AWS, and no bonus last yr)

I think i am underpaid too...no promotion for past 5 yrs.....

Bro, get out while you're young. You probably be better off in an MNC if you are good at your work. Don't waste another 5yrs of your life there.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

I'm already 47, earning only $60k pa. Are there anyone in this forum earning as pathetic as me?

you are actually not so bad. i'm 45, getting only $47k pa. be happy with what you earn.

don't be discouraged by all the boastings of those people here. these guys are high income earners and not the average joe like us.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

you are actually not so bad. i'm 45, getting only $47k pa. be happy with what you earn.

don't be discouraged by all the boastings of those people here. these guys are high income earners and not the average joe like us.

There could be retrenched grads in their 40s and 50s who earn about $3k pm or $36k pa. So your $47k pa is still higher.

When you are in your late 30s, 40s and 50s, make sure you do not overleverage in your property. Don't be so confident to upgrade to a more expensive house and taking more loans. You will never know when you will be retrenched. Worse, if both husband and wife got retrenched at the same time. The best is to buy cheap BTO and pay the loan and stay there. So, even if you lose your job, you still have a home.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

There could be retrenched grads in their 40s and 50s who earn about $3k pm or $36k pa. So your $47k pa is still higher.

When you are in your late 30s, 40s and 50s, make sure you do not overleverage in your property. Don't be so confident to upgrade to a more expensive house and taking more loans. You will never know when you will be retrenched. Worse, if both husband and wife got retrenched at the same time. The best is to buy cheap BTO and pay the loan and stay there. So, even if you lose your job, you still have a home.

Like that how to escape the rat race? Taking some risks is required to escape. Inaction due to disproportionate levels of fear of failure is what causes regret when you are old.

No job is 100% safe, so does that mean no one should step out of their comfort zone to make some investments and gve themselves a chance at financial freedom?

IMHO, as long as you do risk management, ensure you have buffers and control spending, it is better to go invest then stay still and just hope for the best. Life is what you fight for.